Mission Investing in People Goal

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 000062

SIPDIS

AID/W FOR SCAA/FLYNN FULLER
ALMATY FOR USAID

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID KHIV SOCI ELAB SCUL TI
SUBJECT: Mission Investing in People Goal


1. Introduction and Summary: A recent review of the Mission
Strategic Plan provided a snapshot of what we achieved in the last
year and our top priorities looking ahead. This is the third cable
to provide a goal-by-goal look of what Embassy Dushanbe is doing.
With our Investing in People goal we seek a healthy, educated
workforce that supports economic growth, reduces the appeal of
extremism and engages in civic affairs. We support public health
system reform and policies to improve safe motherhood, newborn care,
and management of childhood illnesses, HIV/AIDS, drug demand, and
tuberculosis. We train teachers, boost community involvement in
schools, expand exchange programs, and work to improve education
finance, school curricula, and student assessment. We coordinate
with other donors to leverage U.S. resources. Among our key
achievements, we opened new health centers providing training in
primary healthcare. We helped Tajikistan secure resources for
HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. We made progress in improving educational
finance, teacher training and primary school curriculums. We
expanded exchange programs. In 2009 we will continue to open new
health centers, train more teachers, expand education finance pilots
and send more people on exchanges. Post will conduct the second year
of mentoring for Tajik English teachers and we will use a regional
English Language Teachers' conference in Dushanbe in June to improve
English teaching methodologies and build networks among regional
teachers. We will work to bring the Peace Corps to Tajikistan to
support English education. High turnover in the health and education
sectors is a major obstacle to achieving more progress. On the
bright side, the government has supported getting more local
ownership of health and education programs. End Intro and Summary.

Achievements


2. We executed Memoranda of Understanding with the Ministries of
Health and Education on our assistance for reforms in the health and
education sectors, including assistance with Global Fund and Fast
Track Initiative grants. Our support for Tajikistan's TB and HIV
applications to Global Fund resulted in conditional approval of
awards totaling over $70 million. We helped improve hygiene and
health facilities in eighty schools in the Khatlon region. With
Mercy Corps, we launched a new multi-million dollar, multi-year
program to improve maternal and child health. We opened new
healthcare Centers of Excellence in Istravshan and Panjakent that
trained doctors in those regions in family medicine and the delivery
of quality healthcare services.


3. We revised teacher training modules in math, biology, chemistry,
language, and general education and submitted them to the Education
Ministry. We helped 28% of the districts in the country to adopt new
school finance mechanisms to expand per capita school financing. We
started a Fulbright Foreign Student program for Tajikistan that will
send six Tajikistanis to the United States for masters degrees this
year. We increased professional exchange participants through Open
World and Community Connections. We provided in-depth training for
twenty high school teachers, including a three-week course with
visiting experts from the University of Montana. We awarded ten
four-year scholarships to talented Tajik students the American
University of Central Asia. A Defense Department Civil Affairs team
renovated the Qumsangir Boarding School for homeless children, the
Qrenovated the Qumsangir Boarding School for homeless children, the
Teacher Training Institute in Khujand, and secondary School #17 and
the School for the Blind in Isfara Teacher Training Institute so the
schools could function year-round.

Goals


4. After conducting baseline surveys in 2008, with USG funding Mercy
Corps will open new maternal and child health sites in three towns
in the Sughd region. We will hand over quality assurance
responsibilities for microscopy tuberculosis tests to oblast-level
specialists. We will provide educational exchanges and material to
heighten HIV/AIDS awareness in the armed forces and supply office
and medical equipment for HIV/AIDS testing centers at the national
and regional medical departments of the Ministry of Health. We will
look at ways to strengthen coordination and oversight of the use of
Global Fund monies to address HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.


5. We will finish revising new curriculum modules for primary grades
in math, Tajik language and general education, and we will train
mentors. We will review the school management training module for
school principals that includes guidance on per capita financing,
budget formation, human resources, documentation, and strategic and
business planning. We will assess needs and integrate innovative
student-centered teaching methods into the teacher training
curriculum. We will work with the Ministries of Education and
Finance, World Bank, the Aga Khan Foundation and Education Finance
Working Group to revise per capita parameters and approve budgets
for pilot schools. We will launch the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program
to bring a U.S. professor to Tajik university classrooms. We will
repeat the very successful 2008 summer camp program to share

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American values, teamwork, leadership, and basic English language
instruction with Tajik youth from isolated rural areas. We will
expand overall the number of participants in exchanges shooting for
a target of 200. We will use the Central Asian Teachers of English
Conference in June as a platform to promote English-language
learning in the region, to identify and develop the most effective
methodologies, build networks among regional teachers, and highlight
the contributions of Peace Corps volunteers as English teachers in
Central Asia. We will work to increase coordination among the
stakeholders, donor community and international organizations in
both the education and health sectors.

Obstacles and Positive Developments


6. All education programs - whether nationwide reform initiatives,
exchange programs for U.S. professors or students, or informal talks
by embassy personnel about U.S. society - require explicit approval
from the Minister of Education. This bureaucratic structure
combined with our limited access to the Minister of Education
affected our ability to move some education reform issues. There is
some chance that the Minister will move on in 2009; if so we will
work to build a strong relationship with his successor and to
encourage more decentralized decision-making. High turnover in state
structures and the low capacity of government staff at all levels
limit what we can achieve. The Tajik government tends to focus its
efforts on getting short-term humanitarian assistance rather than
using development assistance to solve problems. On the bright side,
the government is willing to work with the international community
to strengthen the management of technical and financial support and
the government has been willing to approve projects that promote
local ownership and sustainability. Washington approved funds to add
local staff which will allow us to increase activities and outreach
with students and U.S. program alumni.

JACOBSON